


Good things come to those who...

by dangerliesbeforeyou



Category: HIStory3 - 圈套 | HIStory3: Trapped
Genre: (set in the 3 years of Tang Yi being in prison), Established Relationship, Ficlets, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Mutual Pining, Prison, Romance, Short Stories, Waiting, ongoing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-21
Updated: 2019-07-17
Packaged: 2020-05-15 23:56:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,677
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19306453
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dangerliesbeforeyou/pseuds/dangerliesbeforeyou
Summary: Collection of short ficlets based on the 3 years of Tang Yi being in prison.(some will probably be AU, but mostly I'll try and make them canon-compliant)...





	1. The Keychain

**Author's Note:**

> Just gonna dumb any short thing i can think of in regards to tang yi being in prison & how he & shao fei deal with that... 
> 
> because i'm not done with being trapped trash apparently lol...

Shao Fei returned home with a heavy heart that day, still remembering the touch of Tang Yi’s lips to his own and the warm press of their hands together. 

Tang Yi’s house felt even bigger and empty without the presence of the man. Even Hong Ye was more subdued in her teasing than usual, both silently acknowledging their own equal pain in being away from a man they loved so dearly. 

The evening, Shao Fei found himself wondering into Tang Yi’s office. His hand traced the back of his desk chair before he sat down, taking in the menial possessions he kept on his desk. Pens, documents, folders were neatly positioned in small piles, but what caught Shao Fei’s eyes was a familiar plastic decoration.   
The keychain. 

Smiling fondly, he unhooked it from where it was hung and let it fall into his palm, snorting at the memory of flashing it at an unsuspecting Tang Yi.

‘Dead Face’ is what he’d called him then, a time that felt a millennium ago, causing him to snort slightly. He wished he could go back and tell his past self how very wrong he was about Tang Yi. 

It didn’t take long for Shao Fei to realise Tang Yi’s expressionless face was a means of protection, a mask to guard himself from getting hurt. And once Shao Fei had broken through that façade, he realised just how much Tang Yi had been holding in throughout the years. All that pain came flooding out in a space of a few days, and it broke Shao Fei’s heart to see the man he loved be hurting so much. 

He felt himself well up slightly and frowned at the skeleton keychain still in his hand. 

‘Look what you’ve done to me! Getting all emotional about a goddamn piece of plastic!’ He scolded the object, poking the skeleton’s ‘cheek’ as if it were Tang Yi’s own. 

He sighed and placed the keychain back on the desk before getting up to leave. 

He’d almost reached the door until he found himself walking back and pocketing the keychain. 

The keychain was, after all, quite a lot like Tang Yi…


	2. A Long Wait...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Glimpse into how Tang Yi's dealing with being in prison  
> (also Chris and Jake make cameo roles because no one can stop me lol

Two weeks of Tang Yi being in prison and he was already going insane. The food wasn’t great, and his bed wasn’t nearly as comfortable as his one at home. 

He was lucky to be in a room on his own, but mealtimes were always communal, which meant several awkward attempts at conversations with his fellow inmates. 

A man called Chris, who was closer to being the equivalent of a giant human puppy than a criminal, always sat with him at lunch, usually speaking loudly about annoying or unnecessary things. He usually had a friend with him who laughed a lot, Tang Yi didn’t know his name, but couldn’t help but be reminded of Shao Fei when he looked at him. It was probably the ears…

Tang Yi hated thinking about Shao Fei, though, as it always left him with the biggest ache in his chest. 

He never realised he could miss someone as much as he missed that mad, beautiful man… Even with visiting hours a couple times a week, and an allotted phone time, Tang Yi knew that it was going to be a very long 3 years…

On one such visit, Shao Fei was telling Tang Yi some story about chasing a mugger (if he’s being honest, he wasn’t really listening, but seeing Shao Fei enthusiastically flail his hands around made him feel impossibly fond). 

‘…but luckily I only had stand upside down for a couple seconds because the rest of squad turned up.’ Shao Fei finished his story, looking at Tang Yi with that overly expectant expression on his face. 

‘You’re an idiot, you know that?’ Tang Yi said jokingly into the receiver, smiling softly as Shao Fei started to pout and complain at his insinuation. ‘Kidding, kidding! Officer Meng is the most respectable and intelligent officer out there and has never done a single stupid th-‘

‘Okay, okay, I get it!’ Shao Fei hushed him with an eyeroll, though his face was splitting into a wide grin. 

Tang Yi couldn’t help but stare at the man in front of him, a habit he had noticed himself doing a lot around Shao Fei, which caused the latter to visibly squirm slightly in his seat.

‘Stop looking at me like that!’ He whispered into the phone, glancing round him nervously as he started to blush slightly.

Tang Yi suddenly smiled sadly, feeling that deep ache in his heart.

Shao Fei noticed his change in demeanor, and his eyes widening, and eyebrows raised in a worried expression.

‘Hey, don’t worry!’ He said hurriedly, scooting forward in his chair in an attempt to get closer (which was impossible, given the glass between them). ‘You’ll be out of here before you know it!’

Tang Yi simply nodded, not trusting his voice from not breaking at that point. He brought his hand up to the glass, holding his palm flat against it. 

Shao Fei mirrored his action, and if Tang Yi thought really hard, he could almost imagine he could feel the warmth coming from the other man’s hand. 

He mouthed a small ‘I love you’, pressing his hand even further onto the glass, and watched as his lover beamed and whispered the words back to him in the receiver.   
The guard behind him coughed, breaking the moment, their hands sliding away from each other. 

Tang Yi knew it was going to be a long 3 years, but as long as he knew Shao Fei was there waiting for him, it’d all be worth it…


	3. After he left...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Set straight after Tang Yi goes into the prison & Shao Fei is trying to deal with it...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is mostly fluff, with like a smidgen of angst...
> 
> hope u enjoy lol???

After watching Tang Yi walk into the abyss of the prison block, Shao Fei remained standing in the same spot, ridiculously wishing that his lover would walk back out in the next second.

He knew that was impossible, Tang Yi would be behind bars for close to 3 years, and Shao Fei had to come to terms with that. He knew it was the best possible option for them both at this point, but his heart still ached at not being able to see or hold his love for so long…

After staying still for a further 10 minutes, he eventually started to drag his feet away, finally tearing his eyes away from the darkness of the prison. 

It wasn’t as if he wouldn’t see him again, Shao Fei reasoned with himself. In actual fact, he planned to be in the visiting room as much as humanly was possible. He remembered joking about this to Tang Yi the previous night as they lay in bed together. 

 

‘You’ll be seeing my face so much you’ll eventually become sick of me visiting!’ 

Tang Yi snorted, ‘I think I’ll be pretty used to it after 4 years of putting up with your face aggravating me at every corner!’

‘Hey!’ Shao Fei had playfully slapped him. ‘You’re supposed to say that you ‘could never get sick of my face’, or something romantic like that!’ 

Then Tang Yi had rolled them over and pulled Shao Fei’s pouting face closer to his own, cupping the other man’s cheeks with both of his hands. 

‘I could stare at your face for years on end and never get tired, Meng Shao Fei’ He had said softly, with the sincerest expression on his face, his eyes firmly fixed on the other man’s. ‘If I could have it my way, you’d never leave the visiting room even for a second in all the time I’m in there… A day without seeing your face feels like a thousand years, if I could only see one thing I-‘

‘Okay, okay I get it, you can shut up now!’ Shao Fei spluttered, unable to stop the raging blush that crept up his cheeks. The corners of Tang Yi’s mouth had curled up into a large grin, before he leaned up to brush his lips gently against his lover’s. 

 

Shao Fei shook the memory away from his mind’s eye, sighing to himself as he pulled up to Tang Yi (and his) house. 

Zhao Zi had suggested that maybe it’d better if Shao Fei lived back in his old flat for the time being, so he wasn’t constantly reminded of Tang Yi (and the lack of him). But Shao Fei knew that being surrounded by the last traces of Tang Yi was going to be one of the few things that kept him going through the very long 3 years he had to wait. 

Shao Fei walked past a pair of his slippers still stood ready by the door, into the kitchen where traces of their last meal together still remained on the dishes and pans soaking in the sink. He avoided the office, and went straight into their joint bedroom, where he paused for a second. 

He found himself moving towards the bed, running his fingers along the pillow on Tang Yi’s side of the bed, before sinking himself down onto the covers and curling himself up. 

He hadn’t let himself cry yet, not waiting to show how much it was affecting him to Tang Yi (because he knew the other man would just feel more guilty). But as his head was rested against the pillow, inadvertently breathing in the last remaining traces of Tang Yi’s scent, he found himself silently weeping. 

His mind wondered back to their last night together, the moments just before they both drifted to sleep. 

His eyes had been closed, a small contented smile on his face as he snuggled closer to Tang Yi’s warmth. He felt the other man shift slightly and then a soft press of lips to his forehead, before he felt himself fall into a deep sleep.

He may have imagined it, but in the split second before he fell, he could’ve sworn he heard Tang Yi utter ‘I love you’ in a voice hushed enough to be mistaken as just a breath. 

 

The current Shao Fei wiped his tears on the back of his hand and sat up, finding himself smiling despite himself. 

No matter how hard the next 3 years were going to be, he knew that Tang Yi would be worth the wait.


	4. Freedom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tang Yi is free... (short fic with his thoughts/feelings + he talks to Hong Ye)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I planned for this to be longer but i cba to write more lol... i headcanon this as basically what happens 3 yrs after his prison sentence tho lol...
> 
> I haveny read it through so only god knows if it’s any good lool
> 
> Enjoy tho??

Tang Yi stepped out into the bright morning light and let the warmth of the spring sun breathe over him. 

He was finally free.

Everything over the last 7 years had lead him to that moment; the moment when he could walk out of the prison confines a free man, his shoulders, and his heart, no longer bearing the pain and vengeance that had so long ruled over him.

The years in prison had allowed him to reflect on his choices, many of which he wasn’t proud of (namely, shooting the love of his life in the shoulder), but he knew that once he was out, he’d finally be able to have the normal life old Tang had wanted for him...

He remained basking in the sun before he heard the unmistakable sound of Hong Ye’s voice yelling for him on the wind. He opened his eyes and glanced across the street where, sure enough, Hong Ye stood with Dao Yi, her hands held to her mouth as she hollered his name.

A grin couldn’t help but form on his face as he rushed towards her, before flinging his arms firmly around her into a tight hug.

They remained in their embrace for several moments and Tang Yi could already feel the wetness of Hong Ye’s tears seeping through to his shoulder, his own eyes beginning to well up. They eventually pulled apart, Hong Ye’s face was streaming with tears, though she was beaming brightly at him.

Her expression suddenly turned serious as she took Tang Yi by the shoulders and shook him slightly.

‘Tang Yi, don’t you dare do something like this ever again, you hear me?’ She scolded, her voice sounded hoarse. 

‘I won’t.’ Tang Yi said softly, bringing his hands up to gently caress his little sister’s hands currently on his shoulders. 

‘Promise?’

Tang Yi simply nodded, ‘I promise.’

He glanced up at Dao Yi then, who was looking at the both of them affectionately.

‘Thank you for taking care of Hong Ye whilst I was... you know...’ He said softly. ‘You’ve always been such a huge support to us both, especially when old Tang died, which I’ll forever be grateful for!’

Dao Yi simply smiled and nodded his head, his eyes glistening somewhat. 

Tang Yi looked back at Hong Ye, before glancing around. A frowned formed on his face, which Hong Ye picked up on immediately.

‘Shao Fei told me to tell you that he’s sorry he couldn’t come to meet you, but he had very important work to do...’ Hong Ye said hurriedly. ‘He said that he’ll be home later, though...’

Tang Yi nodded forlornly. As much as he wanted to storm into the precinct & pull Shao Fei out of whatever work he was doing into the tightest hug possible & then proceed to kiss the living daylights out of his; he knew that Shao Fei held his job in the highest regard. And if he said there was important business, Tang Yi knew that it must be incredibly vital for Shao Fei to be working on it.

This, of course, didn’t stop Tang Yi’s heart from hurting at the prospect of waiting an entire day to see his lover.

‘I understand...’ He sighed, smiling weakly at Hong Ye, who was giving him a look as if she was worried he’d run off to see the other man that instant. ‘I’ve already waited 3 years, what’s another day, right?

Hong Ye gave him a sad smile, her hands reaching up to cup his face. 

‘You should head home now, you look absolutely knackered!’ She joked, squishing his cheeks playfully.

‘Hey!’ He protested with a laugh, pulling his face back as he started to walk away, a grin beginning to form on his face. ‘Have you looked at yourself in the mirror lately, little sister?’ 

Hong Ye spluttered in indignation as Tang Yi had started to speed walk away.

‘Get your ass back here, Tang Yi!’ Hong Ye yelled after him.

Tang Yi simply turned and waved back at her, a smile permanently plastered to his face.

 

Once he arrived at his driveway, he felt elated. He stepped inside & breathed deeply.

Everything was the same. His slippers were still placed by the door, which he slipped on as he went further inside. Everything was exactly the same, even down to the angle of the coffee table in the living room. It felt so surreal to Tang Yi that he was finally back. 

His stomach took this opportunity to make a small groaning sound, so he padded his way to the kitchen in the hope Shao Fei had some leftovers he could devour. He had just almost reached the fridge when a pair of arms encircled him from behind.

He reacted quickly & spun around, ready to punch his attacker head on, only to come face-to-face with a beaming Shao Fei.

Tang Yi gasped in shock, before a flood of emotions came over him. He collapsed into Shao Fei’s arms, pressing his face into the other man’s neck and clutching desperately at his shirt. Shao Fei’s own arms were also curled against his back, his right hand sending smooth strokes in his hair and the left pressed firmly against his shoulder blade. 

Tang Yi felt the tears fall onto Shao Fei’s neck, but was unable to stop the onslaught. His lover just held him.

‘Shh’ and ‘it’s alright, it’s okay’ were hushed into his hair as Shao Fei pulled him even tighter against his chest.

After a lifetime Tang Yi finally loosened his grip and pulled back slightly, not too far, as he was still enclosed in Shao Fei’s embrace. 

The other man turned his face to look at Tang Yi, his eyes also glistening, a watery smile on his face.

‘Welcome home, Tang Yi!’ He said barely above a whisper.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hav a few ideas of my own i wanna do for this... but like feel free to comment/message me on tumblr (my username’s the same as here btw) if u have any prompt ideas u’d like me to write for the prison years lol??


End file.
